Wick.



H. RUPPEL.

WICK.

APPLICATION FILED ooT.a,191a.

1,089,966. Patented Ma,1.10,1914.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY RUPPEL, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO AMERICAN STOVE COMPANY, OF ST. LOU'IS, MISSOURI, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

WICK.

To all 'whom it may concern Be it known that I, HENRY RUPPEL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Wicks, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawin This invention relates to improvements in wicks, and particularly to annular wicks for use in heating and cooking burners, which are subjected to high degrees of heat for considerable lengths of time.

It is a recognized fact among those skilled in this art that the cotton wicks which are universally used in the burners of oil stoves are quite rapidly charred and carbonized, which carbonization Aand charred portion must be removed from time to -time in order to get satisfactory results, and that by reason of this frequent removal of the carbonized and charred portions the wick has onl a com aratively short life and the oldl wie c must e removed and a new one substituted therefor. It is also recognized that this operation of renewing the -old oily Wick and the placing in the burner a new wick is a dirty disagreeable task and oftentimes one difficult to properly accomplish.

The/object of my present invention is to provide a cotton wick with a renewable burning edge or top which can be readily removed and a new top or burning edge substituted therefor, `tlie'renewable portion being composed of non-combustible material. preferably mineral or asbestos wool, though other noncombustible materials, such as mica, may be utilized.

In carrying out my present invention, I provide the annular top or upper end of a cotton wick with a metallic annular cupI vertical central sectional view of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a perspective View of the upper end of my improved wick with the mineral Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 10,1914.

Application filed October 9, 1913. Serial No. 794,261.

wool omitted from the open top cup carried by the cotton wick.

I am aware that efforts have been made to provide what is commonly referred to as a noncombustible top or burning portion of a wick and that various kinds of non-combustible material, including asbestos, has been used, but so far as I ain aware, none of these constructions have gone into any appreciable practical use. This may be due to the fact that such non-combustible material becomes saturated with carbon and becomes hot and thereafter ceases to be a good conductor of oil, and hence is unsatisfactory in providing the proper capillary action necessary to get the required quantity of oil at the top or burning portion of the wick to provide the proper amount of oil vapor for said operation of the burner.

So far is I am aware, it is new to prof vide a cotton wick with a readily renewable non-combustible top or burning portion, whereby the noncombustible material may be readily and quickly applied not only by the manufacturer, lbut readily and quickly removed and renewed by the housewife or servant.

In carr ing out my present invention, -I provide t e top of an annular cotton wick l, with an annular open top-cup portion 2, 'which projects a short distance a ove the top of the cotton wick. lAa here shown, this cup portion is formed by means of an inner .perforated metallic wall 3, which is suitably secured to the inner side of the to of the -wick and projects therebeyond a s ort dis tance, and the outer annular perforated metallic ring 4, which projects a corresponding distance above the top of the cotton wick, :the two metallic walls 3 and 4: forming the open top cup portion 2. Placed within the open top cup is a suitable quantity of, preferably, mineral wool 5, which is 1n engagement with the top of the cotton wick. A sufficient amount of this mineral wool '5 is placed in the cup to extend a short distance above its top, as shown to provide an eX- poscd lighting and vaporizing surface; The mineral wool is in sufficient quantity to form a substantial contact with the cotton wick, but is preferably not packed very tight and by reason of this relatively loose packing of the mineral wool, it is a good capillary conductor of the oil and by contact with the cotton wick, the oil is quickly carried throughout the mineral wool and to the top thereof for lighting purposes. This character of filling by reason of its fibrous nature is also readily lighted, because the heat of a match will quicklyraise the temperature of the oil in the exposed fibers at the top to quickly vaporize the oil therein and the vapor is immediately lighted. For this reason, it is preferred to use mineral wool rather than the sheet or card asbestos, because the latter has its fibers closely packed and to that extent capillary action is retarded and the sheet asbestos will become more quickly hardened by the accumulation of carbonand more quickly lose its capillary qualities. Also preferably in a wick of this character, the outer perforated wall 4, which has its projecting top forming the outer wall of the cup 2, extends down the whole lengthA of the Wick and is turned around the lower edge, as shown at 6, so that the perforated wall 4 also performs the function of a raiser for the wick with which the usual cog wheel (not shown) engages in a manner well understood by those skilled in this art and need not be illustrated for the purpose of understanding this invention.

The cup portion of the wick will extend down upon the burner (not shown)v far enough to prevent the charring of the cotton wick or, in other words, the cup is of sufficient depth so that the quantity of min,- eral wool therein will provide all of the vapor necessary for the burner and will receive all of the high .degree of heat, thus leaving the cotton portion of the wick practically in its original condition for the quick transmission of the oil therethrough by capillary action to the mineral wool.

With a wick of the improved construction, the cup is readily and quickly filled with mineral wool by the manufacturer when it is sold'either with or without the burner, and the minera-l wool is quickly and readily removable by the housewife or serv ant when it should become so carbonized as to retard its pioper action, and new asbestos wool readily V put in its place. By means of this construction, the housewife or servant can very frequently and readily renew thetop or burning portion of the wick and thus .keep the wick practically new and the burning portion of the wick clean and in the best possible condition for satisfactory and odorless operation. No special tool is required to remove the mineral wool and to vwool, and this mineral wool put new mineralI Wool in its place. The tines of a fork which are always readily at hand can be used to remove the mineral wool and to refill the cup with clean mineral is cheap and readily obtained.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure Joy-Letters Patent is- 1. An improved wick, comprising an annular cotton wick having at its upper end inner and outer annular metal walls extending upward beyond the end of the wick with their inner surfaces in `vertical lines with the outer and inner surface, of the wick to form a projecting open top annular channel of a width corresponding to the ithick# ness of the wick, and a removable and renewable asbestos filling within the channel for the purpose described.

2. An improved wick comprising an annular cotton wick having on its lower porof the wick, an inner annular wall secured to the top of the wick and projecting thereabove with its upper end in a horizontal plane with the outerannular wall, the inner and outer annular walls being perforated, and a removable and renewable non-combustible fibrous material within the space between the projecting ends of said inner and outer annular walls, substantially as and for the purpose described.

3. An improvedj wick comprising an annular lower cotton portion having an outer perforated wall throughout its length and projecting beyond its top, and an inn r perforated wall secured to the top edge f the wick and extending only a short distance on the wick, the said inner wall projecting above the top of the wick a distance substantially corresponding to the' projecting portion of the outer wall, the two walls forming an open top cup, a non-combustible In testimony whereof I hereunto affix` my I signature in the presence of vtwo witnesses. HENRY RUPPEL. Witnesses Gr. J. GIrroRD, J. E. GILBERT. 

